Weight Loss Update – Three Weeks In

So, I have to say that my weight loss is going pretty darn well. My last weigh in about two months ago was at 307 lbs. I assumed that I was probably around 310 pounds when I started tracking calories, and reducing my carbohydrates. Of course my scale was broken at the start, so I might have been as low as 300 pounds. As of my weigh in yesterday afternoon, I’m 287 pounds, or a loss of at least 13 pounds since starting.

This might seem like a great deal of weight loss, but because my BMI started out around 40 (which is morbidly obese for my height), I am pretty happy to see it drop two points to 38. A few people have asked what my goal is in relation to my weight loss. Simply put, I would like to fit into an XL shirt again, as I’m currently wearing 2XL shirts. I would also like to get down to a size 40 pants. These are the sizes that would let me purchase clothing that I enjoy from normal stores, and I felt much more comfortable at that size than I am currently.

What have I been doing?
I read once that weight was eighty percent based on what you eat or don’t eat and twenty percent related to exercise, and so I haven’t been exercising much other than walking everywhere, and the occasional weight lifting of a dumbbell at my computer desk. Mostly, I’ve been tracking my calories, carbohydrates, protein and fat. Out of those four things, I only worry about my calories and carbs. My goal would be to get my carbs under 100 grams per day. My initial hope of getting into ketosis range which would be between 20 and 30 grams per day is just too far outside what I am comfortable with that it isn’t worth it for me.

What I have realized though is that a high protein diet definitely helps me lose weight through letting me not feel hungry as quick as I did under my normal eating habits. I find I don’t snack as much around my computer as I used to as well, since I’m both tracking my calories and I just don’t feel the need.

I’m also drinking a lot of water, which probably helps as I am sure I was getting at least one thousand calories per day from drinks before I started this new lifestyle.

I don’t have a cheat day, as I know I suffer from binge eating, and could easily, if I gave myself permission, gorge on five or six thousand calories of bad stuff, which would only make it harder for me to continue on my chosen path, and defeat some of the hard work I’m putting in. I also don’t limit myself. If I want a hamburger or a bag of chips, I’m able to do that, but I keep myself aware of what I’m spending calories on. I’ve only had to go to bed hungry once in the last three weeks thanks to bad allocation of my day’s calories.

I really like meat. I’ve been eating a great deal of hamburger, chicken, fish, and bacon, and loving every minute of it. I’m slowly trying to work more fish and chicken into the rotation and cut down a bit on the red meats and fatty meats, but this entire thing is a process.

Issues and Frustrations?
I have been having great issues with fruits and vegetables though, as these products quickly go bad. I do have some frozen fruit to make smoothies with, but I have to figure out what I’m going to do about veggies. I am probably going to investigate more frozen and canned ones so that I’m not racing against the clock to force myself to eat them.

I still have a daily habit of consuming one sugar laden drink. I’ve been avoiding aspartame, and drinking the occasional Nestea Zero instead. I’m trying to slowly wean myself off Coke, and have been experiencing a few more headaches than normal, but I’m sure that’s just my body getting used to not having caffeine.

This diet isn’t perfect, I’m still making changes to it, and learning as I go. The best thing is that I’m keeping up a calorie deficiency each day versus my estimated basal metabolic rate, and that means, through no other effort, I should slowly continue to lose weight. I try to keep this to around 500 calories lower than my cap for each day, so that I can lose around one pound per week, but I seem to be doing better than that in loss.

It is frustrating sometimes that I’m unable to keep my carbohydrates under 100 grams per day, and I have been having a hard time with things like pizza, pasta, and other Italian dishes that are high in carbohydrates. Yesterday, there was a pot-luck in the back yard with dozens of amazing food dishes. There were even cupcakes with icing. I managed to resist it all and stick to meat and veggies. It wasn’t fun. I wanted to give myself the day off, but it is a slippery slope. I know I have to remain resilient if I am going to achieve my goal.

I never thought it would take so much time, consideration, and brain power to lose the weight that I mindlessly put on.

Side note: Thanks to those that are cheering me on, you know who you are, and I really appreciate it!

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11 comments

Hey Dave…Good job on the weight loss! I am in the same boat as you for veggies…and I HATE most greens. I don’t have a big appetite and something I did was bought a veggie powder that was made of greens that I mixed into my smoothies to give me the nutrients I was missing by not eating the greens. It’s a good idea to make sure you add some more weight lifting/toning to your routine otherwise as the pounds drop you’re going to have a lot of loose hanging skin which may make you not as happy. Keep it up tho!

The issue with wraps and stir fries is I’m avoiding carbs as much as possible, and wraps and rice for stir fry both are heavy in carbs. I plan on making some stew and some chili in the near future, and will probably eat some wraps and stir fry the same week. 🙂

I’m not a real rice fan and rarely eat it with stir fry…just a little olive oil, a whole bunch of veggies, some meat and a bit of seasoning or garlic sauce. And it’s good leftover for the next day’s lunch 🙂 I know there are carbs in the wrap itself but it is a great way to eat up lettuce, baby spinach, avocado, peppers and other fresh vegs that don’t keep and you can load it up with protein like cheese, boiled egg, tuna and salmon…would the benefits of all those vitamins and fibre outweigh the carbs?
PS. Rick’s been reading this blog and he commented on what a good writer you are.

Thanks. It will be a slow process, but if I’m lucky, I can lose 30+ pounds before Christmas time, and since I’ve been gaining 10lbs a year for the last ten years, it will bring me back 3 years in weight. 🙂

Your diet sounds pretty similar to what I was and am now doing again; Primal Blueprint. As far as vegetables expiring, I do a lot of frozen veggies. I’m particularly fond of the steamables. Just throw them in the microwave for 5 minutes and you’ve got some pretty decent tasting veggies. On the meat front, Trader Joe’s has some awesome pre-cooked meat, beef, lamb and pork.

I don’t currently own a microwave…lol. But yes, I need to work on that. I have been trying to eat more veggies lately. I don’t think there are any Trader Joe’s in Canada. 🙂 Thanks for the well wishes though. I’m excited about losing some weight. I really want to be able to shop for clothes at normal stores…